Rapid City, city, seat (1877) of Pennington county, western South Dakota, U.S. It lies at the eastern edge of the Black Hills on Rapid Creek, from which it derived its name.

It was settled in 1876 during the Black Hills gold rush. In the beginning the community grew slowly, and there was often discord between the settlers and the Sioux. Rapid City soon became a transportation centre and the eastern gateway to the mining region, and the railroad arrived in 1886. Today the city is a regional centre of commerce, culture, transportation, education, and health care. Tourism is the basis of the economy. Forestry and mining (gypsum, clay, sand and gravel, and crushed stone) are also important. Manufactures include electronics, wood products, cement, and jewelry. The area’s main agricultural activities are cattle and sheep ranching; wheat, oats, and hay are also produced. Financial and business services, beef processing, and distribution are other economic factors.

Rapid City is the seat of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology (founded 1885) and National American University (founded 1941). The Journey Museum combines several collections in exhibits on pioneer history, the Sioux, and regional archaeology and geology. The Museum of Geology, on the mining school campus, includes displays of minerals and dinosaur skeletons found in the area. Reptile Gardens has one of the largest collections of reptiles in the world. Bear Country USA is a drive-through wildlife park with bears, bison, mountain lions, elk, wolves, and bighorn sheep. Ellsworth Air Force Base is located just northeast of the city; on its grounds is the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. A popular annual local event is the Central States Fair (August).

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constituent state of the United States of America. South Dakota became the 40th state of the union on November 2, 1889. The state has two unique physical features: It contains the geographic centre of the United States, which is located just north of Belle Fourche, and it has its own continental...

isolated eroded mountain region in western South Dakota and northeastern Wyoming, U.S., lying largely within Black Hills National Forest. The hills lie between the Cheyenne and Belle Fourche rivers and rise about 3,000 feet (900 metres) above the surrounding plains. They culminate in Harney Peak...

a broad alliance of North American Indian peoples who spoke three related languages within the Siouan language family. The name Sioux is an abbreviation of Nadouessioux (“Adders”; i.e., enemies), a name originally applied to them by the Ojibwa. The Santee, also known as the Eastern...

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The second largest city in South Dakota is Rapid City, which is located about 40 miles (60 kilometers) east of the Wyoming border. A gateway to the Black Hills region, the city attracts many tourists. Farming, mining, lumbering, and the production of cement and food products are also important to the economy. The city is the site of the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Major flooding in June 1972 killed about 235 people and caused extensive property damage. Population (2010 census), 67,956.